A few days before Hurricane Sandy came barreling up the East Coast, I sat facing Cape Cod Bay with my infant son in my lap, swallowing oysters as fast as my husband could shuck them. It was a lovely afternoon—literally the calm before the storm. Still, I found myself growing fearful about how the oyster beds that have fed me since I was a child might fare.

Thankfully, prescient oystermen worked overtime before Sandy's arrival to get a supply onshore, and officials say they're hopeful the shellfish harvest will resume soon from Virginia to Connecticut—a huge relief, since prime season for oyster-eating is just beginning.

Like many of us, oysters respond to cooling temperatures by bulking up—building glycogen, a carbohydrate layer that hits the tongue like a scrumptious wave of sugar and fat. But that sweet spot is short-lived: Come midwinter, when water temperatures drop below 40 degrees, oysters begin to shrivel. So, half-shell seekers, seize the day!

And give thanks. Because not only is now the best time of year for oysters—it's also the best moment in modern memory. North America is in the midst of an oyster renaissance the likes of which has not been seen since the Gilded Age, when your average Joe could pop into a corner joint in New York or San Francisco and pay 6 cents to slurp as many as he could stomach.

Oysters Coast to Coast

Only five species of oyster are cultivated commercially in North America, but hundreds of different varieties are available, each deriving its unique character from the waters in which it grows. Pictured above are oysters from different corners of the continent. Clockwise from top right:

By 1930, though, pollution and overharvesting led to steep price hikes, and oysters evolved from workingman's lunch to rich man's luxury.
Jon Rowley,
a Washington-based seafood consultant, recalls that as late as the early 1980s, only one restaurant in Seattle was shucking and serving fresh oysters. "The rest were just washing and reusing shells over and over again, filling them with oysters from a jar," he explained

Now, Seattle has emerged—like Venus, from the half-shell—as the hub of the thriving Northwest oyster scene, buoyed on one side by environmentally minded growers and on the other by a new generation of oyster bars serving up Kumamotos, Little Skookums and Baywater Sweets. Across the country, in the Chesapeake Bay, the explosion of interest has been at least as dramatic: Over the past five years, the number of oysters farmed in the region jumped from 5 to 23 million annually.

While there are five species consumed in North America, two—Crassostrea gigas, aka the Pacific oyster, and Crassostrea virginica, aka the Eastern oyster—are most common. But no one orders plain old "Pacific" or "Eastern" oysters anymore. Most have descriptive names (Moonstone, Sweet Petite) or geographic "appellations" (Wellfleet, Colville Bay). And just as oenophiles refer to a wine's terroir, oyster aficionados speak of merroir, the unique character an oyster takes on from the place in which it grows. Because an oyster pumps 40 to 50 gallonsof water a day, ambient minerals, algae and salinity levels profoundly effect its flavor profile.

In the Gulf of Mexico, abundant wild reefs sustained an old-school, working-class oyster culture for years. But recently, in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Ike and the BP oil spill (which wiped out more than half of Louisiana's oyster harvest), Gulf oystermen have been flirting with notions like merroir. A few years back,
Robb Walsh,
author of "Sex, Death & Oysters," and a proud Texan, happened on a 1915 map of Galveston Bay oyster beds, and it got him thinking. Though nowadays most oysters from the region are sold in mixed lots as generic "gulf oysters," on Mr. Walsh's map the reefs were individually named. "I wondered if oysters were still being harvested in these places, and if we could taste the differences," he explained. "I mean, why couldn't the Gulf have appellation oysters, too?"

Mr. Walsh reached out to the companies who controlled the reefs and asked if they'd pull out site-specific samplings. Then he rounded up some of the country's biggest oyster fans to give the samples a try. "The bay is about 600 square miles," he said. "Spots closer to the Gulf get more saltwater and stronger currents, giving the oysters a frillier shell. As you move north, the water is more nutrient-rich, and that makes the oysters bigger and creamier."

Rowan Jacobsen,
author of "A Geography of Oysters" and the website the Oyster Guide, has gleefully explored this newly charted territory. "Whereas your average—usually Louisiana—Gulf oyster can have a muddy bayou flavor," he explained, "Pepper Groves are intensely salty, with an almost astringent finish. And Point Aux Pins, grown in Alabama's Mobile Bay, have a sweet-salty umami note." It seems Mr. Jacobsen is not alone in embracing these appellations. "Boutique Gulf oysters may be outliers now," he said, "but they're not going to be for long."

Oyster Recipes, Eateries & Tasting Tips

Hangtown Fry

Serves 2. Place a heavy skillet over moderate heat. Add 2 strips thick-cut bacon, diced, along with 1 minced shallot. Cook until shallot is translucent and bacon is crisp and browned, about 5 minutes. Scrape mixture into a bowl and set aside. // Add 1 tablespoon butter to skillet. When melted, add 1½ ounces sliced shiitake mushrooms. Saute until tender and lightly browned, 5-6 minutes. Add mushrooms to reserved bacon/shallot mixture. // In a medium bowl, lightly whisk 5 eggs. Add 10 shucked oysters and 2 tablespoons of their liquid (called liquor). Season with salt and pepper and stir gently. Add 1 tablespoon butter to skillet. When butter has melted, pour egg and oyster mixture into hot pan and adjust burner to low-medium. Scatter bacon, shallots and mushrooms over top and cook, stirring once or twice, until eggs are softly scrambled. Garnish with 1 teaspoon each chopped parsley and scallions, season to taste with salt and pepper.

Eventide Oyster Co. | Since opening this summer, this bright, inviting spot has quickly established itself as the pearl of Portland's Old Port. Grab a seat at the bar hewn from cement and Maine granite, nosh on house-made pickles and a cup of chowder, and browse the selection of oysters arrayed on crushed ice: 18 enticing varieties, nine from Maine and nine "from away." Don't neglect the top-notch cocktails, like the surprising and simple celery gimlet. 86 Middle St., Portland, Maine; 207-774-8538

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Reef in Houston, TX
Reef

Reef | This sunny Houston seafood house, with James Beard award-winning chef/owner Bryan Caswell at the helm, has long used its menu to celebrate indigenous Gulf seafood—including the up-and-coming field of reef-specific oysters, like Pepper Grove and Ladies Pass, from Galveston Bay. 2600 Travis St., Houston; 713-526-8282

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Shaw's Crab House
Shaw's Crab House;

Shaw's Crab House | Chicagoans have a well-documented appetite for oysters going back to the 1800s, when oyster brokers from the East navigated the Erie Canal and Great Lakes to get the goods to hungry patrons. While Shaw's hasn't been around nearly that long—it opened in 1984—sitting in one of its red leather booths, attended by a bow-tied waiter and supping a dozen Conway Cups on the shell, is a timeless pleasure. 21 E. Hubbard St., Chicago; 12-527-2722

The Walrus and The Carpenter | In an old marine warehouse in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood, chef Renee Erickson has created the prototype for the modern oyster bar—whitewashed brick walls, gleaming zinc bar—and a wide and tempting menu of Pacific oysters. The service is equally impressive: Staffer Anthony Pane is renowned as one of the country's fastest, cleanest shuckers. 4743 Ballard Ave. NW, Seattle; 206-395-9227

The Leadbelly |One of a great wave of oyster bars and upscale "clam shacks" cresting on New York's Lower East Side this fall, this shabby-chic den from the team behind the Fat Radish is already luring in the hip and the hungry with a selection of East and West Coast oysters, swank cocktails and artful bar snacks. 14B Orchard St., New York; 646-596-9142

Mail—Order Mollusks

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Mail-order mollusks
F. Martin Ramin for The Wall Street Journal

There are hundreds of varieties to try, each evoking its native waters. Many of the country's best oyster farms deliver, making it easy to assemble an at-home tasting in a range of flavor profiles.

BOLD AND BRINYAn oyster grown in or near the open ocean, in highly saline waters, is your best bet. As a rule, East Coast oysters trump West Coast ones when it comes to brininess.

BEST OF BOTH COASTS: From Taylor Shellfish, on an algae-rich tributary of the Puget Sound, comes the Totten Inlet Virginica. The only Eastern oyster raised in the Pacific, it's firm-fleshed, with balanced sweetness and brine.

TRY:Totten Inlet Virginicas (Puget Sound), taylorshellfishstore.com

Some tips on storage: Arrange oysters in a bowl or on a platter, with cupped sides of shells facing down so the oysters sit in their liquor and remain moist. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and refrigerate. Oysters' shells should remain tightly shut. If one opens, it means the oyster inside has died; discard and do not eat. And never store live oysters in an airtight container or sealed plastic bag.

How to Shuck an Oyster

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Wellfleet oyster knife
F. Martin Ramin for The Wall Street Journal

Don't be daunted by shucking: It just takes a little practice and a proper knife. Our favorite, for its pretty brass and rosewood grip and its steady heft in the hand, is the Wellfleet oyster knife (pictured here) by R. Murphy ($37, rmurphyknives.com). Here's how to wield it:

Using your nondominant hand (wrapped in a dish towel for protection), grip oyster with flat side of shell facing up, cupped side down. Slide tip of shucking knife into hinge joint at pointed end of oyster, keeping blade flat and parallel to shell. Work blade into hinge, wiggling and turning until you feel a release or "pop"—the sign you've severed the ligament that keeps the shell closed.

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2. Draw knife across interior of top shell
Bruce Hutchison for The Wall Street Journal

2. With blade still inserted and parallel to shell, draw knife across interior of top shell, separating oyster flesh from it. Pry off top shell and discard.

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3. Edge blade under oyster meat and slice muscles attaching it to shell.
Bruce Hutchison for The Wall Street Journal

3. Now oyster's meat should be resting, whole, in a small pool of liquid (called liquor) in bottom shell. Taking care not to spill liquor or pierce flesh, edge blade under oyster meat and slice muscles attaching it to shell. Eat and repeat.

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